MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Trading Up 5.2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) shot up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $402.97 and last traded at $396.97. 9,071,136 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 18,687,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $377.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on MicroStrategy from $392.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on MicroStrategy from $300.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of MicroStrategy in a report on Thursday. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $193.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $275.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a PE ratio of -189.35 and a beta of 3.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $298.97 and its 200-day moving average is $199.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software maker reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($1.44). The firm had revenue of $116.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.45 million. MicroStrategy had a negative net margin of 87.05% and a negative return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($8.98) EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.15, for a total value of $1,465,755.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,106,372. The trade was a 32.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.36, for a total transaction of $9,027,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,970 shares in the company, valued at $3,145,979.20. This trade represents a 74.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,000 shares of company stock valued at $32,259,177 over the last quarter. 13.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MicroStrategy by 990.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,766,283 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $465,573,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512,645 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 971.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 639,707 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $107,855,000 after purchasing an additional 579,994 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MicroStrategy by 587.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 664,261 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $111,994,000 after purchasing an additional 567,628 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in MicroStrategy by 904.7% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 468,200 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $78,939,000 after buying an additional 421,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MicroStrategy by 1,077.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 343,164 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $57,857,000 after buying an additional 314,007 shares during the last quarter. 59.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers MicroStrategy ONE, which provides non-technical users with the ability to directly access novel and actionable insights for decision-making; and MicroStrategy Cloud for Government service, which offers always-on threat monitoring that meets the rigorous technical and regulatory needs of governments and financial institutions.